All the tracks on I See Light are culled from the Forgotten tape released on Go! Finger last year with two Chupacabras cuts backed by remixes from Legowelt and Willie Burns. Those two names are probably reason enough for many to investigate but don’t make the mistake of glossing over the wonderfully strange original version of ”I See Light” from Chupacabras, which pairs strange wind instrument with an insistent raw techno groove.
Since donning the Payfone guise, former Kitty Bronx and Leon Lace man Phil Passera has yet to put a foot wrong. Both 2013 debut “International Smark” and last year’s “Paradise” – the latter for Phil South’s Golf Channel imprint – were both superb exercises in re-imagining New York boogie for the house generation. He’s at it again here, with “Quarantine” offering the perfect blend of jaunty electrofunk synths, early New York garage dubbiness, effortlessly soulful vocals, rubbery disco bass and a dash of Giorgio Moroder. Flipside “Padre Pray For Us” is an altogether deeper, woozier proposition, with blazed drums, hazy Rhodes keys and fluid synths being joined by a killer trumpet solo – the kind that makes you want to close your eyes and just drift away.
Smooth yet dusty and rusty retro house on offer here from D.K. aka 45 ACP on L.I.E.S. offshoot Russian Torrent Versions. Taking an interesting change in direction from its usual choice of banging peak time techno tools. Also worth mentioning his album “Change Of Tone” was also released this year on the former. All the tracks on this release here sounding reminiscent of early nineties school Chicago house and all in rather convincing fashion.
Japanese editor Mori Ra returns with four more perplexing, wonderfully obscure edits on Macadam Mambo; “Acid Indonesia” is an overwhelming experience laced with toxic percussion, gritty bass and buried harmonies. “Canoe Tamburi Sacri” retains the heavy percussive focus while flipping the mood switch for something much slower and meditative. “Sleeping Industry” is the most cosmic number on the release with an array of synths vying for our attention over a wind chime rhythms while “Tsuru-Kame Hinadisco” brings us back into reality with harmonic chimes, steel drums and more dubby overlays than a Kingston cutting house.
Red Laser’s Wet Play trilogy concludes with four of the juiciest disco treats of the series; “Streetboxx” is a sopping wet electro boogie jam that wriggles so hard its speedos pretty much fall off half way through. “Your Sunshine” splashes down in the early 80s with processed vocals, lounge chords and synth-toms that spurt so hard we should really sell towels with this EP. “Xanthan Gum” dives deep into an Ame-style tech pool while “Another Life” whips up a tsunami of nostalgia thanks to a well known arpeggio and a bassline that’s soaking in boogie feels and refuses to shake itself dry.
Patricia returns to Opal Tapes and carries on his excursions into dusty analog techno with this six tracker featuring a collaboration with Vancouver-based Cloudface!
Leibniz and Credit 00 team up for more Basement Toolz on RAT5. Three home made Bangers to rock every party like its Octoberfest all over again.
The G man returns to his Phoenix G home with a somewhat special album release. Where the usual Mr.G sound is still present on this LP, ‘Night On The Town’ showcases G’s more adventurous works and exposes some of his more exotic influences. African Rhythm sections, hints to EBM and low tempo chugs make this album very actual yet unique.
The infamous Sneaker delivers 5 tracks of acid and ghetto house for ULM Records. Rough and dirty and material … straight down to the bone. ULM Records is run by an old guy. He loves to collect records from genres like boogie, modern soul and disco, but he also loves house, techno and acid. From time to time he’s hanging around in his home studio.
Since establishing the illicit My Rules imprint earlier this year, New Yorker Justin Vangdervolgen has used it to deliver a mixture of sneaky edits, hush-hush remixes and sly, sample heavy original productions. “Sketch 2” is towards the rougher end of Vandervolgen’s output, and sees the former man laying down some seriously tough, twisted beats, jagged analogue motifs, bleeping melodies and mind-altering acid lines. It sounds like the sort of sweaty machine jam that will get dancefloors in a frenzy of flailing arms and legs.
BAKK presents a new 12inch by Legowelt from the darkness of the Scheveningse Pier. Hypnotic swirling synths, moisty hi-hats and dirty kicks welcome you to the Laundromat Of Your Mind. An EP with both dark peak time techno and beautifully orchestrated symphonies. A four tracker bound to get your stuff clean or to leave the club filthy at the end of the night.
Crimes of the future are proud to present the first recorings from Bulb. Bulb are Willie Burns, Scott Fraser and Timothy J. Faiplay. Side A combines ghetto techno breaks with something from wayward Kosmiche studio experiments in deepest Germany. On side two dark ambient synthesis and stabbing drums combine to drop you somewhere in a world of psychedelia and cavernous cave dwellings.
In typical Golf Channel fashion, this collaborative 12″ from Detroit native Todd Modes and Heroes of The Galleon Trade guitarist Mike Severson offers the perfect balance between left-of-centre experimentation, and disco-influenced dancefloor grooves. This is first evident on the baggy, slightly psychedelic stoner disco throb of “Midnight Exotics”, where Severson’s hazy guitar passages and beat boxing style vocal samples ride a trippy, disco-rock groove. Flipside “Disco Desire” pushes the intensity level up several notches. This time, Severson offers up wild, heavy metal-inspired guitar solos, which build in intensity over Modes’ pulsating, italo-influenced backing track.
Love On The Rocks imprint is recruiting Indonesian Jonatahn Kusuma who steps up with two killer tracks of the Balearic kind. “A Steins Way” features an infectious synth bass melody backed by emotive strings, FX of the spacey kind and white noise; all that you need! On the flip is “Underpass’ with its low slung groove. A deep funky bassline and some spacey arpeggios are once again all you need to get any party started.
1983 boogie classic from the vast Salsoul vaults. Contains the full Shep Pettibone 12” mix and instrumental.
The Hipodrome Of Music 